, 1887-09-09
ALWAYS. ON THE GO.


that existence would be a burden, and
you could not get a man to run on the
road at all, for the pay is not great and
the danger is not a little"
He was a trainsman on one of the
many roads that run out of Buffalo, and
had just finished his supper and was
quietly enjoying a cigar. he was in a
laxative mood and went on, pausing
now and then to keep his cigar going.
81 don't know why it is, but 1 am
never contented except whenI am on the
move. l may be dull and depressed when
down town, but the moment the conduc.
tor calls out An aboardi' and the engine
pulls out, l forget everything except the
hustle, rumble, roar and the swaying of
the train. The rapid motion has an ex-
hilarating effect, and as the trees and
fields whia by my blood begins to tingle.
Then a man mak.s friends at every
stopping place, and there is always some
n to say 'good-day' and 'good-by' at
every station. You are always on the go,
and there are always old friends and new
faces at every turn. / like the life, and
1t Is the excitement in ID hat keeps so
many men tied down to it. You must
not think we could not do better. Why,
l have quit two or three times, and I did
well, too, but l could not stand it, SO I
returned to the life again. Promotion is
slow but sure, and zach of us knows that
a conductors punch will surely come in
time if we 10 our duty. 1t is all very
well to talk of soulless corporations, but
a railroad appreciates ar honest employee
just as much, if not more, than a bank
president does an efficient clerk.
81 don't know why it is, he went on,
after a few vigorous puffs, ''but the
brakeman-or trainman as he is now
called-is a greater masher than the con-
ductor. The shy country lass, the coy
village maid, and the aristocratic city
lady all take to us. One reason is, we
are more obliging. We nave few of the
cares hat annoy the conductor: people
are not trying to beat us, and we have
no spoilers watching us. 1 suppose it is
necessary to put spies on the conductors,
but | think as a class they are honest.
Now and then one yields to a pitiful tale.
but he is too good a judge of human
nature to be deceived often. | often
think that if the officials had to be tried
and tempted as the conductors are they
would make as many mistakes Of the
head and heart. l will give you one
pointer-if you wish to get a ride make
your talk to the conductor before you
board the train. he will do Just as much
for you then as he will when you strike
him on board. A man who is honest
never gets aboard and tries to beat his
way, and no one knows his better than
the conductor.
"No, we seldom get tips" he con-
tinued, land a great many of us never
take them. Of course. we can pick up
many cigars, but they are more in the
line of sociability than anything else.
We have so many friends along the road
that they are always doing something of
the kind. l know one day l returned n
book to an old gentleman who had left it
in his seat as he changed ears here. He
offered me q dollar. which I refused. He
then n me very gracefully with a
marked English accent. / found out
afterward he was Herbert Spencer. |
was glad then | refused the tip
81 can give you another instance" he
said, after another struggle with his
cigar, land that happened between here
and Syracuse. We pulled out one night,
and as I walked through the car l saw q
young girl with a pinched face, dark sad
eyes and a hacking cough. l saw that
she was a ~consumptive, and l made up
my mind that she was h%urrying home to
die. l was all sympathy at once, and
made up my mind that | would keep
track of her and see that her Journey
was pleasant as possible. We whirled
along, and as l went by her 1 saw that
she was suffering. l %proffered my ser
vices, and she said she wanted a cup Of
water. l got it and then / fixed the
seats and made her a bed. l gave her
all the help | could, and she finally told
me her story. She said she had been a
student at the Normal school at Albany,
but she had broken down during the
course of study. Now, l had a cousin
there and l told her SO, and she knew
her. She became more confidential and
she told me she was going home to die,
and that the doctors had told her she
could not live six months. When W.
parted | turned her over to the conduc
tor on the next run, who had at one
time been a trainman with me. 1 never
saw her again.
ut was a good six months afterward,"
he said, as he lighted his cigar, which
had gone out, "when l heard that there
was a reward offered TO the trainman
who had been kind to a sick lady on his
train. 1 thought OF my adventure, but
l made up my mind hat l was not the
lucky man. Now, all the boys had a
sick passenger, but none got the reward.
wv NNJ ~ aSbnL a L4Alll SNil1lC up dlllA
began to talk with me about my sick
passenger, and wanted a description. |
am a good hand at remembering names
and faces, and / told him about her
pinched face and her eyes and cough, as
1 have told you. He told me that l was
the man he was looking for, but wanted
me to tell how she was dressed, and l
did not miss that. Then he informed me
that she had requested on her deathbed
that l should be well rewarded for my
kindness. He told me that she had a
little money, but that her mother was in
rather poor circumstances 1 am not
very saving any way, but 1 nave enough
for my ordinary expenses, l thought of
my own mother, and then / made up my
mind that l did not want any reward,
and told them so. / knew that she was
grateful, and l told them l did not value
the reward half as much as l did her re-
membrance of me. l never got the re-
ward" he added, with an attempt at a
smile, ''and these are the only tips that l
ever received. But / must report for
this train, so that if the other man can't
go l may take his run. If you ever take
q 80, lzr-a a,,r rAol oo x, a,,u &-o;. 4